Navellier & Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Navellier & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,230 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $1,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter worth about $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Woodward by 101.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total transaction of $1,745,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,008,669.50. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,304. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Woodward Trading Up 0.8 %

WWD opened at $172.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $167.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.93. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $128.52 and a one year high of $188.35. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.38.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.72%.

Woodward Profile

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.